Bell Helmets Goes Rogue with New Cruiser Lid

Our resident road warrior has earned his stripes covering the rally circuit, from riding the Black Hills of Sturgis to cruising Main Street in Daytona Beach. Whether it's chopped, bobbed, or bored, metric to 'Merican, he rides 'em all.

Bell broke wraps on its Rogue Helmet, its innovative removable muzzle allowing the freedom of a half-shell with the insurance of added protection against road debris. A proprietary ‘FidLock magnetic connection system’ snaps the muzzle in place. There’s a new sheriff in town. Now bikers won’t have to wrap a bandana or neoprene mask around their face thanks to Bell’s Rogue Helmet.

It’s not often that a new helmet gets us excited around here. Especially in the cruiser domain where we’re often content to squeeze our heads into undersized brain buckets. But then again, we’ve never seen anything quite like Bell’s new Rogue Helmet.

Claimed to “bridge the divide between open and full face,” the Bell Rogue has a trick removable face guard so you’re going to get the unobstructed smells, sounds and air flow of a half shell without taking as much road shrapnel to the face. The system has a slick magnetic system that clips the face guard into place, and once clipped in it’s not coming off until you press the release latch. The face guard, which Bell calls a muzzle, has both standard and long side straps so you can adjust how close it sits to your face.

The muzzle itself is made of polyurethane and comes up above the nose and below the chin. The motorcycle lid has a composite half-helmet shell with an extra strip of EPS in back that provides 3/4-helmet like protection. The new Bell Rogue weighs a claimed 1350 grams, comes in three shell and EPS sizes, it’s DOT approved and backed by a five-year warranty. Available through Bell distributors in March, the Bell Rogue Helmet sells for $249.95 in Solid Black, Solid Matte Black, Army Green and Solid Gunny finishes.

The Rogue was designed with the “cruiser market in mind” because of the hordes of riders who wrap bandanas or neoprene masks around their faces when they ride. But Bell is wagering it will appeal to a wide slice of riders. We could see a stunter or two sporting something like this, too. The Rogue sports a macho design, part Lucas stormtrooper, part SWAT team, and when the zombie hordes come rollin’ in, this is the helmet we want to be wearing. Bell Powersports GM Chris Sackett said the Rogue has “… an edgy design that makes it hands down the meanest-looking helmet we’ve ever made.”

Bell promises to launch a marketing campaign in March unlike any other in support of its new lid. Hopefully by then we’ll have one in our office, so look for a full Bell Rogue Helmet review in the future.